Getting Started

Site Marking

Standard Color Codes

Paint, flags, or stakes indicating the presence of a buried facility should correspond to the following color codes:

Red = Electric

Yellow = Gas/Oil/Steam

Orange = Communications/CATV

Blue = Water

Green = Sewer

Pink = Survey Markings

White = Proposed Excavation

Do not begin an excavation until you have confirmed all notified utilities have either responded to the stakeout request—markings at a site do not indicate the site has been cleared for excavation.

Excavators can help the utilities and their crews by marking the exact excavation site with white paint prior to requesting the stakeout. Avoid using colors that could be confused with the standard color codes.

Common Marking Styles

Facility operators rarely provide depth information. If you find markings containing numbers, it likely indicates the width of the facility.

Width of facility

Indicates a large facility or conduit; dashed lines indicate the outer edges of the facility

Indicates a large facility or conduit; 24” indicates width of facility